My life is so crazy that I am constantly offering up all my crosses and trials to the Lord! So what can you say to someone next time they start complaining about their day? Tell them to offer it up! The Lord offered up all his sufferings to God, so can we.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Saint Albert today is saying to me to offer God my good will. St. Albert tells usthat there is nothing more valuable than to offer up our will to do good. Resistingtemptations and although we may fail at times to offer up our good intentionsto do what is pleasing to Him.....

Indeed we can offer God nothing more valuable than a good will, since agood will in the soul is the source of all good things, and the motherof all virtues. If any one is beginning to possess that good will, heundoubtedly has what is necessary for leading a good life.

Now there is no one who approaches God with a true and upright heartwho is not tested by hardships and temptations. So in all thesetemptations see to it that even if you feel them, you do not consent tothem, but bear them patiently and calmly with humility and longsuffering. Even if they are blasphemies and sordid, hold firmly on tothis fact in everything, that you can do nothing better or moreeffective against them than to consider all this sort of fantasy as anothing. Even if they are the most vile, sordid and horribleblasphemies, simply take no notice of them, count them as nothing anddespise them. Don't look on them as yours or allow yourself to makethem a matter of conscience. The enemy will certainly take flight ifyou treat him and his company with contempt in this way. He is veryproud and cannot bear to be despised and spurned. So the best remedy isto completely ignore all such temptations, like flies flying around infront of your eyes against your will. The servant of Jesus Christ mustsee to it that he is not so easily forced to withdraw from the face ofthe Lord and to be annoyed, murmur and complain over the nuisance of asingle fly, that is, a trivial temptation, suspicion, sadness,distraction, need or any such adversity, when they can all be put toflight with no more than the hand of a good will directed up to God.After all, through a good will a man has God as his defender, and theholy angels as his guardians and protectors. What is more, anytemptation can be overcome by a good will too, like a fly driven awayfrom a bald head by one's hand. So peace is for men of good will.Indeed we can offer God nothing more valuable than a good will, since agood will in the soul is the source of all good things, and the motherof all virtues. If any one is beginning to possess that good will, heundoubtedly has what is necessary for leading a good life. For if youwant what is good, but cannot do it, God will make good the deed. Forit is in accordance with this eternal law that God has established withirrevocable firmness that deserts should be a matter of the will,whether in bliss or torment, reward or punishment. Love itself is agreat will to serve God, a sweet desire to please God, and a ferventwish to experience God. What is more, to be tempted is not a sin, butthe opportunity for exercising virtue, so that temptation can begreatly to a man's benefit, since it is held that the whole of a man'slife on earth is a testing. (Job 7.1)

Link here to read more of this little book from St. Albert of Jerusalem

Monday, June 29, 2009

I gave you life, but cannot live it for you.I can give you directions, but I cannot be there to lead you.I can take you to Church, but I cannot make you believe.I can buy you beautiful clothes, but I cannot make you beautiful inside.I can give you love, but I cannot force it upon you.I can teach you to share, but I cannot make you unselfish.I can teach you respect, but I cannot force you to show honor.I can advise you about friends, but cannot choose them for you.I can advise you about sex, but I cannot keep you pure.I can tell you about alcohol and drugs, but I cannot say "no" for you.I can tell you about loft goals, but I cannot achieve them for you.I can teach you about kindness, but I cannot force you to be gracious.I can pray for you, but I cannot make you walk with God.I can tell you how to live, but I cannot give you eternal life.I can love you with unconditional love all of my life... and I will.

That one should not be concerned about feeling tangible devotion so much as about cleaving to God with one's will

Furthermore you should not be much concerned about tangible devotion,the experience of sweetness or tears, but rather that you should bementally united with God within yourself by a good will in yourintellect. For what pleases God above everything is a mind free fromimaginations, that is images, ideas and the representations of createdthings. It befits a monk to be indifferent to everything created sothat he can turn easily and barely to God alone within himself, beempty for him and cleave to him. For this reason deny yourself so thatyou can follow Christ, the Lord your God, in nakedness, who was himselfpoor, obedient, chaste, humble and suffering, and in whose life anddeath many were scandalised, as is clear from the Gospel accounts.After all, a soul which is separated from the body pays no attention towhat is done to its abandoned body - whether it is burned, hanged, orreviled, and is in no way saddened by the afflictions imposed on thebody, but thinks only of the Now of eternity and the One Thing whichthe Lord calls necessary in the Gospel. So you too should treat yourbody as if you were no longer in the body, but think always of theeternity of your soul in God, and direct your thoughts carefully tothat One Thing of which Christ said, For one thing is necessary. (Luke10.42) You will experience because of it great grace, helping youtowards the acquisition of nakedness of mind and simplicity of heart.Indeed this One Thing is very much present with you if you have madeyourself bare of imaginations and all other entanglements, and you willsoon experience that this is so - namely when you can be empty andcleave to God with a naked and resolute mind. In this way you willremain unconquered in whatever may be inflicted on you, like the holymartyrs, fathers, the elect, and indeed all the saints who despisedeverything and only thought of their souls' security and eternity inGod. Armed in this way within, and united to God through a good will,they spurned everything of the world as if their souls were alreadyseparated from their bodies. Consider from this how much a good willunited with God is capable of, when by means of its pressing towardsGod the soul is effectively separated from the body in spirit and lookson its outward man as it were from a distance, and as not belonging toit. In this way it despises everything that is inflicted on itself oron its flesh as if they were happening to someone else, or not to ahuman being at all. For He that is united with the Lord is one Spirit,(1 Corinthians 6.17) that is with him. So you should never dare tothink or imagine anything before the Lord your God that you would blushto be heard or seen in before men, since your respect for God should beeven greater than for them. It is a matter of justice in fact that allyour thoughts and thinking should be raised to God alone, and thehighest point of your mind should only be directed to him as if nothingexisted but him, and holding to him may enjoy the perfect beginning ofthe life to come.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Colossians 1:24.Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, in my flesh, for his body, which is the church:

Ver. 24. And fill up those things....in my flesh for his body, which is the church.[5] Nothing was wanting in the sufferings or merits of Christ, for a sufficient andsuperabundant redemption of mankind, and therefore he adds, for his body, which is thechurch, that his sufferings were wanting, and are to be endured by the example of Christby the faithful, who are members of a crucified head. See St. John Chrysostom and St.Augustine. (Witham) --- Wanting. There is no want in the sufferings of Christ himself ashead; but many sufferings are still wanting, or are still to come in his body, the Church,and his members, the faithful. (Challoner) --- St. John Chrysostom here observes thatJesus Christ loves us so much, that he is not content merely to suffer in his own person,but he wishes also to suffer in his members; and thus we fill up what is wanting of the sufferings of Christ. (St. John Chrysostom) --- The wisdom, the will, the justice of JesusChrist, requires and ordains that his body and members should be companions ofhis sufferings, as they expect to be companions of his glory; that so suffering with him,and after his example, they may apply to their own wants and to the necessities of othersthe merits and satisfaction of Jesus Christ, which application is what is wanting, andwhat we are permitted to supply by the sacraments and sacrifice of the new law.

On Cleaving to GodPart 9Saint Albert of JerusalemHow much the contemplation of God is to be preferred to all other exercises

Now since all things other than God are the effect and work of the Creator himself, their having ability and being is a limited power and existence, and being as they are created out of nothing, they are circumscribed by the effects of their nothingness, while their tendency of themselves towards nothingness means that we receive our existence,preservation and activity moment by moment from the Creator himself, along with whatever other qualities created things may have, just as we receive their insufficiency to any action of themselves, both with regard to themselves and to others, in relation to him whose operation they are, they remain as a nothing before something which exists, and as something finite before what is infinite. For this reason let all our actual contemplation, life and activity take place in him alone, about him, for him and towards him who is able and capable to produce with a single nod of his will things infinitely more perfect than any that exist now. No contemplation and fruition of love, whetherintellectual or affective, is more useful, more perfect and more satisfying than that which is of God himself, the Creator, our supreme and true Good, from whom, through whom and to whom are all things. He is infinitely satisfying both to himself and to all others, who contains within himself in absolute simplicity and from all eternitythe perfection of all things, in whom there is nothing which is not himself, before whom and through whom remain the causes of all things impermanent, and in whom dwell the unchanging origins of all changing things, while even the eternal reasons of all temporal things, rational and irrational, abide in him. He brings everything to completion, and fills all things, in general and in particular, completely and essentially with himself. He is more intimately and more really present to everything by his being than each thing is to itself, for in him all things are united together, and live in him eternally. What is more, if someone, out of weakness or from lack of intellectual practice, isdetained longer in the contemplation of created things, this supreme, true and fruitful contemplation may still be seen as possible for mortal man, so that there may take place an upward leap in all his contemplations and meditations, whether about created things or the Creator, and the appreciation of God the Creator himself, the One and Three, may surge up within so that he come to burn with the fire of divine love and the true life in himself and in others, in such a way as to make him deserving of the joy of eternal life. Even in this one should bear in mind the difference between the contemplation of faithful Catholics and that of pagan philosophers, for the contemplation of the philosophers is for the perfection of the contemplator himself, and consequently it is confined to the intellectand their aim in it is intellectual knowledge. But the contemplation of the Saints, and of Catholics, is for the love of him, that is of the God they are contemplating. As a result it is not confined in the final analysis to the intellect in knowledge, but crosses over into the will through love. That is why the Saints in their contemplation have thelove of God as their principal aim, since it is more satisfying to know and possess even the Lord Jesus Christ spiritually through grace than physically or even really but without grace. Furthermore, while thesoul is withdrawn from everything and is turned within, the eye of contemplation is opened and sets itself up a ladder by which it can pass to the contemplation of God. By this contemplation the soul is set on fire for eternal things by the heavenly and divine good things it experiences, and views all the things of time from a distance and as if they were nothing. Hence when we approach God by the way of negation, we first deny him everything that can be experienced by the body, the senses and the imagination, secondly even things experience able by the intellect, and finally even being itself in so far as it is found in created things. This, so far as the nature of the way is concerned, is the best means of union with God, according to Dionysius. And this is the cloud in which God is said to dwell, which Moses entered, and through this came to the inaccessible light. Certainly, it is not the spiritual which comes first, but the natural, (1 Corinthians 15.46) so one must proceed by the usual order of things, from active work to the quiet of contemplation, and from moral virtues to spiritual and contemplative realities. Finally, my soul, why are you uselesslypreoccupied with so many things, and always busy with them? Seek out and love the one supreme good, in which is all that is worth seeking, and that will be enough for you. Unhappy therefore is he who knows and possesses everything other than this, and does not know this. While if he knows everything as well as this, it is not from knowing them that he is better off but because of This. That is why John says, This is eternal life, to know Thee, etc. (John 17.3) and the prophet says, I will be satisfied when your glory becomes manifest. (Psalm 17.15)

Friday, June 26, 2009

8:2. And behold a leper came and adored him, saying: Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

8:3. And Jesus stretching forth his hand, touched him, saying: I will, be thou made clean. And forthwith his leprosy was cleansed.

8:4. And Jesus saith to him: See thou tell no man: but go, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

Ver. 2. As the three evangelists relate the cure of the leper in nearly the same words, and with the same circumstances, we may conclude they speak of the same miracles. St. Matthew alone seems to have observed the time and order of this transaction, viz. after the sermon of the mount; the other two anticipate it. The Bible de Vence seems to infer, from the connection St. Matthew makes between the sermon of the mount and the cure of the leper, that it was not the same leper as that mentioned, Mark i. 40. Luke v. 12. (Bible de Vence) --- Adored him. In St. Mark it is said, kneeling down, chap. i. 40. In St. Luke, prostrating on his face. It is true, none of these expressions do always signify the adoration or worship which is due to God alone, as may appear by several examples in the Old and New Testament; yet this man, by divine inspiration, might know our blessed Saviour to be both God and man. (Witham) --- "Make me clean;" literally, "purify me;" the law treated lepers as impure. (Bible de Vence) --- The leper, by thus addressing our Saviour acknowledges his supreme power and authority, and shews his great faith and earnestness, falling on his knees, as St. Luke relates it. (St. John Chrysostom, hom. xxvi.) Our prayer should be such with great faith and confidence, qualified with profound humility, and entire diffidence of self.

Ver. 3. Jesus, stretching forth his hand, touched him. By the law of Moses, whosoever touched a leper, contracted a legal uncleanness: but not by touching in order to heal him, says Theophylactus. Besides, Christ would teach them that he was not subject to this law. (Witham) --- "Touched him." To shew, says St. Cyprian, that his body being united to the Divinity, had the power of healing and giving life. Also to shew that the old law, which forbad the touching of lepers, had no power over him; and that so far from being defiled by touching him, he even cleansed him who was defiled with it. (St. Ambrose) --- When the apostles healed the lame man, they did not attribute it to their own power, but said to the Jews: Why do you wonder at this? But when our Saviour heals the leper, stretching out his hand, to shew he was going to act of his own power, and independently of the law, he said: "I will. Be thou clean;" to evince that the cure was effected by the operation of his own divine will. (St. John Chrysostom, hom. xxvi.)

Ver. 4. For a testimony to them. That is, when the priest finds thee truly cured, make that offering which is ordained in the law. (Witham) --- He did this to give us an example of humility, and that the priests, by approving of his miracle, and being made witnesses to it, might be inexcusable, if they can still call him a transgressor of the law, and prevaricator. He moreover gives this public testimony to them of his divine origin. (St. John Chrysostom, hom. xxvi.) St. John Chrysostom, in his third book on the priesthood, says: "the priests of the old law had authority and privilege only to discern who were healed of leprosy, and to denounce the same to the people; but the priests of the new law have power to purify, in very deed, the filth of the soul. Therefore, whoever despiseth them, is more worthy to be punished than the rebel Dathan and his accomplices." Our Saviour willeth him to go and offer his gift or sacrifice, according as Moses prescribed in that case, because the other sacrifice, being the holiest of all holies, viz. his body, was not yet begun. (St. Augustine, lib. ii. & Evang. ii. 3. & cont. adver. leg. & Proph. lib. i. chap. 19, 20.)

May we pray for the Great Faith and confidence in Our Lord as the Leper shows us in today's Gospel Reading From Matthew. Jesus is the supreme and Divine Healer of Our Souls if only we step out and ask him.Lord, if thou wilt you thou can make me clean. And Jesus does will it for each of us. So be bold and courageous in Faith.

How a religious man should commit himself to God in all circumstances whatsoever

I am now completely convinced that you will recognise from thesearguments that the more you strip yourself of the products of yourimagination and all worldly and created things, and are united to Godwith your intellect by a good will, the closer you will approach thestate of innocence and perfection. What could be better? And what couldbe more happy and joyful? Above all it is important for you to keepyour mind bare - without imaginations and images and free of any sortof entanglement, so that you are not concerned about either the world,friends, prosperity or adversity, or anything present, past or future,whether in yourself or in others - not even your own sins. But consideryourself with a certain pure simplicity to be alone with God outsidethe world, and as if your mind were already in eternity and separatedfrom the body so that it will certainly not bother about worldly thingsor be concerned about the state of the world, about peace or war, aboutgood weather or rain, or about anything at all in this world, but withcomplete docility will turn to God alone, be empty for him and cleaveto him. So now in this way ignore your body and all created things,present or future, and direct the high point of your mind and spiritdirectly, as best you can, naked and unencumbered on the uncreatedlight. And let your spirit be cleansed in this way from allimaginations, coverings and things obscuring its vision, like an angel(not) tied to a body, who is not hindered by the works of the flesh nortangled in vain and wandering thoughts. Let your spirit therefore armitself against all temptations, vexations, and injuries so that it canpersevere steadily in God when attacked by either face of fortune. Sothat when some inner disturbance or boredom or mental confusion comeyou will not be indignant or dejected because of it, nor run back tovocal prayers or other forms of consolation, but only to lift yourselfup in your intellect by a good will to hold on to God with your mindwhether the natural inclination of the body wills it or not. Thereligious-minded soul should be so united to God and should have orrender its will so conformed to the divine will that it is not occupiedwith any created thing or cling to it any more than before it wascreated, and as if nothing existed except God and the soul itself. Andin this way it should accept everything confidently and equally, ingeneral and in particular, from the hand of divine providence, agreeingin everything with the Lord in patience, peace and silence. The thingis that the most important thing of all for a spiritual life is tostrip the mind of all imaginations so that one can be united in one'sintellect to God by a good will, and conformed to him. Besides, nothingwill then be intermediary between you and God. This is obvious, sincenothing external will stand between you when by the vow of voluntarypoverty you will have removed the possession of anything whatsoever,and by the vow of chastity you will have abandoned your body, and byobedience you will have given up your will and your soul itself. And inthis way nothing will be left to stand between you and God. That youare a religious person is indicated by your profession, your state, andnow your habit and tonsure and such like, but whether you are only areligious in appearance or a real one, you will find out. Bear in mindtherefore how greatly you have fallen away and sin against the Lordyour God and all his justice if you behave otherwise and cling withyour will and love to what is created rather than to the Creatorhimself, putting the created before the Creator.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

What is more, as is said in the book On the Spirit and the Soul (of St.Augustine), to ascend to God means to enter into oneself. He whoentering within and penetrating his inmost nature, goes beyond himself,he is truly ascending to God. So let us withdraw our hearts from thedistractions of this world, and recall them to the inner joys, so thatwe can establish them to some degree in the light of divinecontemplation. For this is the life and peace of our hearts - to beestablished by intent in the love of God, and to be sweetly remade byhis comforting. But the reason why we are in so many ways hindered inthe practical enjoyment of this matter and are unable to get into it isclearly because the human mind is so distracted by worries that itcannot bring its memory to turn within, is so clouded by itsimaginations that it cannot return to itself with its understanding,and is so drawn away by its desires that it is quite unable to comeback to itself by desire for inner sweetness and spiritual joy. Thus itis so prostrate among the sense objects presented to it that it cannotenter into itself as the image of God. It is therefore right andnecessary for the mind to raise itself above itself and everythingcreated by the abandonment of everything, with humble reverence andgreat trust, and to say within itself, He whom I seek, love, thirst forand desire from everything and more than anything is not a thing of thesenses or the imagination, but is above everything that can beexperienced by the senses and the intellect. He cannot be experiencedby any of the senses, but is completely desirable to my will. He ismoreover not discernable, but is perfectly desirable to my inneraffections. He cannot be comprehended, but can be loved in his fullnesswith a pure heart, for he is above all lovable and desirable, and ofinfinite goodness and perfection. And then a darkness comes over themind and it is raised up into itself and penetrates even deeper. Andthe more inward-looking the desire for it, the more powerful this meansof ascent to the mysterious contemplation of the holy Trinity in Unityand Unity in Trinity in Jesus Christ is, and the more interior theyearning, the more productive it is. Certainly in matters spiritual themore inward they are the greater they are as spiritual experiences. Forthis reason, never give up, never stop until you have tasted somepledge, as I might say, or foretaste of the future full experience, anduntil you have obtained the satisfaction of however small a firstfruits of the divine joy. And do not give up pursuing it and followingits scent until you have seen the God of gods in Sion. Do not stop orturn back in your spiritual journey and your union and adherence to Godwithin you until you have achieved what you have been seeking. Take asa pattern of this the example of those climbing an ordinary mountain.If our mind is involved by its desires in the things which are going onbelow, it is immediately carried away by endless distractions and sidetracks, and being to some extent divided against itself, is weakenedand as it were scattered amongst the things which it seeks with itsdesires. The result is ceaseless movement, travel without an arrival,and labour without rest. If on the other hand our heart and mind canwithdraw itself by its desire and love from the infinite distractionbelow of the things beneath it, can learn to be with itself, abandoningthese lower things and gathering itself within itself into the oneunchanging and satisfying good, and can hold to it inseparably with itswill, it is correspondingly more and more gathered together in one andstrengthened, as it is raised up by knowledge and desire. In this wayit will become accustomed to the true supreme good within itself untilit will be made completely immovable and arrive securely at that truelife which is the Lord God himself, so that it can now rest in himwithin and in peace without any changeability or vicissitude of time,perfectly gathered within itself in the secret divine abode in ChristJesus who is the way for those who come to him, the truth and life.Part 7 of "On Cleaving to God" Saint Albert of JerusalemHave a blessed day,Linda

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

That the devout man should cleave to God with naked understanding and will

The more you strip yourself of the products of the imagination andinvolvement in external, worldly things and the objects of the senses,the more your soul will recover its strength and its inner senses sothat it can appreciate the things which are above. So learn to withdrawfrom imaginations and the images of physical things, since what pleasesGod above everything is a mind bare of those sorts of forms andobjects, for it is his delight to be with the sons of men, that isthose who, at peace from such activities, distractions and passions,seek him with a pure and simple mind, empty themselves for him, andcleave to him. Otherwise, if your memory, imagination and thought isoften involved with such things, you must needs be filled with thethought of new things or memories of old ones, or identified with otherchanging objects. As a result, the Holy Spirit withholds itself from thoughts bereft of understanding. So the true lover of Jesus Christshould be so united through good will in his understanding with thedivine will and goodness, and be so bare of all imaginations andpassions that he does not even notice whether he is being mocked orloved, or something is being done to him. For a good will turnseverything to good and is above everything. So if the will is good andis obedient and united to God with pure understanding, he is not hurteven if the flesh and the senses and the outer man is moved to evil,and is slow to good, or even if the inner man is slow to feel devotion,but should simply cleave to God with faith and good will in nakedunderstanding. He is doing this if he is conscious of all his ownimperfection and nothingness, recognises his good to consist in hisCreator alone, abandons himself with all his faculties and powers, andall creatures, and immerses himself wholly and completely in theCreator, so that he directs all his actions purely and entirely in hisLord God, and seeks nothing apart from him, in whom he recognises allgood and all joy of perfection to be found. And he is so transformed ina certain sense into God that he cannot think, understand, love orremember anything but God himself and the things of God. Othercreatures however and even himself he does not see, except in God, nordoes he love anything except God alone, nor remember anything aboutthem or himself except in God. This knowledge of the truth always makes the soul humble, ready to judge itself and not others, while on the contrary worldly wisdom makes the soul proud, futile, inflated and puffed up with wind.So let this be the fundamental spiritual doctrineleading to the knowledge of God, his service and familiarity with him,that if you want to truly possess God, you must strip your heart of alllove of things of the senses, not just of certain creatures, so thatyou can turn to the Lord your God with a simple and whole heart andwith all your power, freely and without any double-mindedness, care oranxiety, but with full confidence in his providence alone abouteverything.

More here from Saint Albert on Cleaving to GodSo for today let us all pray: "Father your will be done"

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

St. John Chrysostom says that our Savior permitted the devils to enter the swine,not for their own sakes, but for our instruction. 1. That we might know how verydesirous the enemy of our salvation is to bring upon us the greatest evils. 2. That thedevil has not any power, even over swine, without the permission of God. And, 3. Thatthese cruel fiends would, if the Almighty allowed them, inflict still more grievoustorments on their unhappy slaves. (Hom. xxix.) Jesus Christ here confutes theSadducean doctrine, which denies the existence of spirits, good or bad. (Haydock)

Demons Entering a Herd of Swine

8:28. And when he was come on the other side of the water,into the country of the Gerasens, there met him two thatwere possessed with devils, coming out of the sepulchres,exceeding fierce, so that none could pass by that way.

8:29. And behold they cried out, saying: What have we to dowith thee, Jesus Son of God? art thou come hither totorment us before the time?

8:30. And there was, not far from them, a herd of manyswine feeding.

8:31. And the devils besought him, saying: If thou cast usout hence, send us into the herd of swine.

8:32. And he said to them: Go. But they going out went intothe swine, and behold the whole herd ran violently down asteep place into the sea: and they perished in the waters.

8:33. And they that kept them fled: and coming into thecity, told every thing, and concerning them that had beenpossessed by the devils.

8:34. And behold the whole city went out to meet Jesus, andwhen they saw him, they besought him that he would departfrom their coast.Read more of the Commentary Here

8:24. And behold a great tempest arose in the sea, so that the boat was covered with waves, but he was asleep.

8:25. And they came to him, and awaked him, saying: Lord, save us, we perish.

8:26. And Jesus saith to them: Why are you fearful, O ye of little faith? Then rising up, he commanded the winds, and the sea, and there came a great calm.

8:27. But the men wondered, saying: What manner of man is this, for the winds and the sea obey him?Ver. 23. This bark is the Catholic Church. The sea denotes the world, the winds andtempests shew the attempts of the wicked spirits to overturn the Church. The Lordseems to sleep, when he permits his Church to suffer persecution and other trials,which he permits, that he may prove her faith, and reward her virtue and merits. (St.John Chrysostom, hom. xxiii. in Mat. viii.) The apostles had followed their divineMaster. They were with him, and executing his orders, and it is under thesecircumstances they are overtaken with a storm. If their obedience to Jesus Christ, ifhis presence did not free them from danger, to what frightful storms do those personsexpose themselves, who undertake the voyage of the present life without him? Whatcan they expect but to be tossed to and fro for a time, and at last miserably to founder? Faithful souls ought, from the example here offered them, to rise superior to everystorm and tempest, by invoking the all-powerful and ever ready assistance of heaven,and by always calling in God to their help before they undertake any thing of moment.(Haydock)

Ver. 25. Should God appear to sleep, with the apostles, we should approach nearer tohim, and awaken him with our repeated prayers, saying: "Lord, save us, or we perish."(Haydock) --- Had our Saviour been awake, the disciples would have been less afraid,or less sensible of the want of his assistance: he therefore slept, that they might bebetter prepared for the miracle he was about to work. (St. John Chrysostom, hom.xxviii.)

Ver. 26. Why are you fearful, having me with you? Do you suppose that sleep can takefrom me the knowledge of your danger, or the power of relieving you? (Haydock) --- Hecommanded the winds. Christ shewed himself Lord and Master of the sea and winds.His words in St. Mark (iv. 39,) demonstrate his authority: Rising up he rebuked thewind, and said to the sea: Peace, be still. (Witham) --- As before our Lord restoredPeter's mother-in-law on the spot, not only to health, but to her former strength; so herehe shews himself supreme Lord of all things, not only by commanding the winds tocease, but, moreover, by commanding a perfect calm to succeed. (St. JohnChrysostom, hom. xxiv.) How many times has he preserved his Catholic Church,when (to all human appearance, and abstracting from his infallible promises) she hasbeen in the most imminent danger of perishing? How many times by a miracle, orinterposition of his omnipotence, less sensible indeed, but not less real, has herescued our souls, on the point of being swallowed up in the infernal abyss?(Haydock) --- He commands the mute elements to be subservient to his wish. Hecommands the sea, and it obeys him; he speaks to the winds and tempests, and theyare hushed; he commands every creature, and they obey. Man, and man only, manhonoured in a special manner by being made after the image and likeness of hisCreator, to whom speech and reason are given, dares to disobey and despise hisCreator. (St. Augustine, hom. in Mat.)From this allegory of the ship and the storm, we may take occasion to speak of thevarious senses in which the words of Scripture may be occasionally taken. ... Thesense of Scripture is twofold, literal and spiritual. The literal is that which the wordsimmediately signify. The spiritual or mystic sense is that which things expressed bywords mean, as in Genesis xxii, what is literally said of the immolation of Isaac, isspiritually understood of Christ; and in Colossians ii. 12, by the baptism of Christ, St.Paul means his burial. The spiritual sense in its various acceptations, is briefly andaccurately given in the following distich: Littera gesta docet, quid credas allegoria, Moralis quid agas, quo tendas anagogia.Jesus Still the Storm

If your desire and aim is to reach the destination of the path and homeof true happiness, of grace and glory, by a straight and safe way thenearnestly apply your mind to seek constant purity of heart, clarity ofmind and calm of the senses. Gather up your heart's desire and fix itcontinually on the Lord God above. To do so you must withdraw yourselfso far as you can from friends and from everyone else, and from theactivities that hinder you from such a purpose. Grasp every opportunitywhen you can find the place, time and means to devote yourself tosilence and contemplation, and gathering the secret fruits of silence,so that you can escape the shipwreck of this present age and avoid therestless agitation of the noisy world. For this reason apply yourselfat all times to purity, clarity and peace of heart above all things, sothat, so far as possible, you can keep the doors of your heartresolutely barred to the forms and images of the physical senses andworldly imaginations by shutting off the doors of the physical sensesand turning within yourself. After all, purity of heart is recognizedas the most important thing among all spiritual practices, as its finalaim, and the reward for all the labors that a spiritual-minded personand true religious may undertake in this life. For this reason youshould with all care, intelligence and effort free your heart, sensesand desires from everything that can hinder their liberty, and aboveall from everything in the world that could possibly bind and overcomeyou. So struggle in this way to draw together all the distractions ofyour heart and desires of your mind into one true, simple and supremegood, to keep them gathered within yourself in one place, and by thismeans to remain always joined to things divine and to God in your mind,to abandon the unreliable things of earth, and be able to translateyour mind continually to the things above within yourself in JesusChrist. To which end, if you have begun to strip and purify yourself ofimages and imaginations and to simplify and still your heart and mindin the Lord God so that you can draw and taste the well of divine gracein everything within yourself, and so that you are united to God inyour mind by a good will, then this itself is enough for you in placeof all study and reading of holy scripture, and as demonstration oflove of God and neighbour, as devotion itself testifies. So simplifyyour heart with all care, diligence and effort so that still and atpeace from the products of the imagination you can turn round andremain always in the Lord within yourself, as if your mind were alreadyin the now of eternity, that is of the godhead. In this way you will beable to renounce yourself through love of Jesus Christ, with a pureheart, clean conscience and unfeigned faith, and commit yourselfcompletely and fully to God in all difficulties and eventualities, andbe willing to submit yourself patiently to his will and good pleasureat all times. For this to come about you must repeatedly retreat intoyour heart and remain there, keeping yourself free from everything, sofar as is possible. You must always keep the eye of your mind clear andstill. You must guard your understanding from daydreams and thoughts ofearthly things. You must completely free the inclination of your willfrom worldly cares and cling with all your being to the supreme truegood with fervent love. You must keep your memory always lifted up andfirmly anchored in that same true supreme good and only uncreatedreality. In just this way your whole mind gathered up with all itspowers and faculties in God, may become one spirit with him, in whomthe supreme perfection of life is known to consist. This is the trueunion of spirit and love by which a man is made compliant to all theimpulses of the supreme and eternal will, so that he becomes by gracewhat God is by nature. At the same time it should be noted that in thevery moment in which one is able, by God's help, to overcome one's ownwill, that is to cast away from oneself inordinate love or strongfeeling, in other words so as to dare simply to trust God completely inall one's needs, by this very fact one becomes so pleasing to God thathis grace is imparted to one, and through that very grace oneexperiences that true love and devotion which drives out alluncertainty and fear and has full confidence in God. What is more,there can be no greater happiness than to place one's all in him wholacks nothing. So why do you still remain in yourself where you cannotstay. Cast yourself, all of yourself, with confidence into God and hewill sustain you, heal you and make you safe. If you dwell on thesethings faithfully within, they will do more to confer a happy life onyou than all riches, pleasures and honours, and above all the wisdomand knowledge of this present deceitful world and its life, even if youwere to excel in them all that ever lived.http://doctors.godworkin.us/albert_C5.htmlSt. Albert of Jerusalem

Monday, June 22, 2009

How man's activity should be purely in the intellect and not in the senses

Happy therefore is the person who by continual removal of fantasies andimages, by turning within, and raising the mind to God, finally managesto dispense with the products of the imagination, and by so doing workswithin, nakedly and simply, and with a pure understanding and will, onthe the simplest of all objects, God. So eliminate from your mind allfantasies, objects, images and shapes of all things other than God, sothat, with just naked understanding, intent and will, your practicewill be concerned with God himself within you. For this is the end ofall spiritual exercises - to turn the mind to the Lord God and rest inhim with a completely pure understanding and a completely devoted will,without the entanglements and fantasies of the imagination. This sortof exercise is not practised by fleshly organs nor by the exteriorsenses, but by that by which one is indeed a man. For a man isprecisely understanding and will. For that reason, in so far as a manis still playing with the products of the imagination and the senses,and holds to them, it is obvious that he has not yet emerged from themotivation and limitations of his animal nature, that is of that whichhe shares in common with the animals. For these know and feel objectsby means of recognised shapes and sense impressions and no more, sincethey do not possess the higher powers of the soul. But it is differentwith man, who is created in the image and likeness of God withunderstanding, will, and free choice, through which he should bedirectly, purely and nakedly impressed and united with God, and firmlyadhere to him. For this reason the Devil tries eagerly and with all hispower to hinder this practice so far as he can, being envious of thisin man, since it is a sort of prelude and initiation of eternal life.So he is always trying to draw man's mind away from the Lord God, nowby temptations or passions, now by superfluous worries and pointlesscares, now by restlessness and distracting conversation and senselesscuriosity, now by the study of subtle books, irrelevant discussion,gossip and news, now by hardships, now by opposition, etc. Such mattersmay seem trivial enough and hardly sinful, but they are a greathindrance to this holy exercise and practice. Therefore, even if theymay appear useful and necessary, they should be rejected, whether greator small, as harmful and dangerous, and put out of our minds. Above alltherefore it is necessary that things heard, seen, done and said, andother such things, must be received without adding things from theimagination, without mental associations and without emotionalinvolvement, and one should not let past or future associations,implications or constructs of the imagination form and grow. For whenconstructs of the imagination are not allowed to enter the memory andmind, a man is not hindered, whether he be engaged in prayer,meditation, or reciting psalms, or in any other practice or spiritualexercise, nor will they recur again. So commit yourself confidently andwithout hesitation, all that you are, and everything else, individuallyand in general, to the unfailing and totally reliable providence ofGod, in silence and in peace, and he will fight for you. He willliberate you and comfort you more fully, more effectively and moresatisfactorily than if you were to dream about it all the time, day andnight, and were to cast around frantically all over the place with thefutile and confused thoughts of your mind in bondage, nor will you wearout your mind and body, wasting your time, and stupidly and pointlesslyexhausting your strength. So accept everything, separately and ingeneral, wherever it comes from and whatever its origin, in silence andpeace, and with an equal mind, as coming to you from a father's handand his divine providence. So render your imagination bare of theimages of all physical things as is appropriate to your state andprofession, so that you can cling to him with a bare and undividedmind, as you have so often and so completely vowed to do, withoutanything whatever being able to come between your soul and him, so thatyou can pass purely and unwaveringly from the wounds of his humanityinto the light of his divinity. St. AlbertCleaving to God, Ch 4http://doctors.godworkin.us/albert_C4.html

Friday, June 19, 2009

I, __________, give myself and consecrate to the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ my person and my life, my actions, pains, and sufferings, so that I may be unwilling to make use of any part of my being save to honor, love, and glorify the Sacred Heart.

This is my unchanging purpose, namely, to be all His, and to do all things for the love of Him, at the same time renouncing with all my heart whatever is displeasing to Him.

I therefore take Thee, O Sacred Heart, to be the only object of my love, the guardian of my life, my assurance of salvation, the remedy of my weakness and inconstancy, the atonement for all the faults of my life and my sure refuge at the hour of death.

Be then, O Heart of goodness, my justification before God Thy Father, and turn away from me the strokes of His righteous anger. O Heart of love, I put all my confidence in Thee, for I fear everything from my own wickedness and frailty; but I hope for all things from Thy goodness and bounty.

Do Thou consume in me all that can displease Thee or resist Thy holy will. Let Thy pure love imprint Thee so deeply upon my heart that I shall nevermore be able to forget Thee or to be separated from Thee. May I obtain from all Thy loving kindness the grace of having my name written in Thee, for in Thee I desire to place all my happiness and all my glory, living and dying in true bondage to Thee.

May the grace and blessing of the Sacred Heart be with you, the peace of the Sacred Heart encompass you! May the merits of the Sacred Heart plead for you, the love of the Sacred Heart inflame you! May the sorrows of the Sacred Heart console you, the zeal of the Sacred Heart animate you, the virtues of the Sacred Heart shine forth in your every word and work! And may the joys of the Beatific Vision be your eternal recompense!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Have you every tried too put together something without the directions. Christmas time is a good example. All those toys for the kids and you decide you can do it without directions. I think we all do this as Christians too. We think we can do it on our own without any help. One day you are so confused and puzzled with life. We need to pull out those directions again.

Today's Gospel reading is about Jesus giving us those directions. It is written and in our souls but do we really read His Word, His directions?

He tells us in Matthew 6: 7-15,In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

This is how you are to pray:"Our Father who are in heaven,hallowed be thy name,thy Kingdom come,thy will be done,on earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread;and forgive us our trespasses,as we forgive those who trespass against us;and lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from Evil.

Now the next few lines are the really tricky part and so need too pull out those directions ......."If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive other, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."

Now I don't know about you all, but that last verse you better pull out those tools, because the some assembly required is going to take a lot of work. It is going to take prayer, sweat, tears, dirty knees and yes we need to take out the directions, the Word Jesus.

Okay so now next time to see those words "Some Assembly Required" I hope you remember to pull out the directions, and that takes humility too!God bless you,Linda

Monday, June 15, 2009

To shew how these words have been interpreted by the primitive Church, we shall here subjoin some few extracts from the works of some of the most eminent writers of the first five centuries.

First Century.

St. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, who was a disciple and contemporary with some of the apostles, and died a martyr, at Rome, in a very advanced age, An. 107, speaking of certain heretics of those times, says: "They abstain from the Eucharist and from oblations, because they do not confess the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who suffered for our sins." See epis. genuin. ad Smyrnæos. --- He calls the Eucharist the medicine of immortality, the antidote against death, by which we always live in Christ. --- In another part he writes: "I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, and for drink, his blood." Again: "use one Eucharist; for the flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ is one, and the cup is one in the unity of his blood. There is one altar, as there is one bishop with the college of the priesthood," &c.

Second Century.

St. Justin, the philosopher, in an apology for the Christians, which he addressed to the emperor and senate of Rome, about the year 150, says of the blessed Eucharist: "No one is allowed to partake of this food, but he that believes our doctrines are true, and who has been baptized in the laver of regeneration for remission of sins, and lives up to what Christ has taught. For we take not these as common bread, and common drink, but in the same manner as Jesus Christ, our Saviour, being incarnate by the word of God, hath both flesh and blood for our salvation; so we are taught that this food, by which our flesh and blood are nourished, over which thanks have been given by the prayers in his own words, is the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus." Apology ii. in fin. he calls it, Panem eucharistisatum Greek: ton arton eucharistethenta, the bread blessed by giving thanks, as he blessed and miraculously multiplied the loaves, Greek: eulogsen autous.

Third Century.

St. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, who suffered martyrdom in 258, says: "the bread which our Lord delivered to his disciples, was changed not in appearance, but in nature, being made flesh by the Almighty power of the divine word."

Fourth Century.

St. Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem, who was born in the commencement of the 4th century, and died in 386, explaining the mystery of the blessed Eucharist to the newly baptized, says: "Do not look upon the bread and wine as bare and common elements, for they are the body and blood of Christ; as our Lord assures us. Although thy senses suggest this to thee, let faith make thee firm and sure. Judge not of the thing by the taste, but be certain from faith that thou has been honoured with the gift of Christ's body and blood. When he has pronounced and said of the bread, this is my body, who will after this dare to doubt? And when he has assured, and said, this is my blood, who can ever hesitate, saying it in not his blood? He changed water into wine at Cana; and shall we not him worthy of our belief, when he changed wine into blood? Wherefore, let us receive them with an entire belief, as Christ's body and blood; for under the figure of bread, is given to thee his body, and under the figure of wine, his blood; that when thou hast received Christ's body and blood, thou be made one body and blood with him; for so we carry him about in us, his body and blood being distributed though our bodies." (St. Cyril, cathech.) --- St. Ambrose, one of the greatest doctors of the Latin Church, and bishop of Milan, who died in 396, proving that the change of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, is really possible to God, and really take place in the blessed Eucharist, uses these words: "Will not the words of Christ have power enough to change the species of the elements? Shall not the words of Christ, which could make out of nothing things which did not exist, be able to change that, which already exists, into what it was not? It is not a less exertion of power to give a new nature to things, than to change their natures. Let us propose examples from himself and assert the truth of this mystery from the incarnation. Was it according to the course of nature, that our Lord Jesus Christ should be born of the Virgin Mary? It is evident that it was contrary to the course of nature for a virgin to bring forth. Not this body, which we produce, was born of the virgin. Who dost thou seek for the order of nature in the body of Christ, when our Lord Jesus Christ was born of a virgin. (St. Ambrose, lib. de initiandis, chap. ix)

Fifth Century.

St. John Chrysostom, bishop of Constantinople, who died in 407, does not speak less clearly on this subject. "He," (i.e. Jesus Christ,) says the holy doctor, hom. l. in Matt. "has given us himself to eat, and has set himself in the place of a victim sacrificed for us." And in hom. lxxxiii.: "How many now say they could wish to see his form, his garments, &c.; you wish to see his garments, but he gives you himself not only to be seen, but to be touched, to be eaten, to be received within you. Than what beam of the sun ought not that hand to be purer, which divides this flesh! That mouth, which is filled with this spiritual fire! That tongue, which is purpled with this adorable blood! The angels beholding it tremble, and dare not look thereon through awe and fear, on account of the rays, which dart from that, wherewith we are nourished, with which we are mingled, being made one body, one flesh with Christ. What shepherd ever fed his sheep with his own limbs? Nay, many mothers turn over their children to mercenary nurses; whereas he feeds us with his own blood!" --- On another occasion, to inspire us with a dread of profaning the sacred body of Christ, he says: "When you see Him exposed before you, say to yourself: this body was pierced with nails; this body which was scourged, death did not destroy; this body was nailed to a cross, at which spectacle the sun withdrew his rays; this body the Magi venerated." --- "There is as much difference between the loaves of proposition and the body of Christ, as between a shadow and a body, between a picture and the reality." Thus St. Jerome upon the epistle to Titus, chap. i. See more authorities in the notes on St. Mark's Gospel, chap. xiv, ver. 22, on the real presence, and also in the following verses and alibi passim.

The manner of going to God. * Hearty renunciation. * Prayer and praise prevent discouragement. * Sanctification in common business. * Prayer and the presence of God. * The whole substance of religion. * Self-estimation * Further personal experience.

He discoursed with me very frequently, and with great openness ofheart, concerning his manner of going to GOD, whereof some part isrelated already.

He told me, that all consists in one hearty renunciation of everything which we are sensible does not lead to GOD; that we might accustomourselves to a continual conversation with Him, with freedom and insim- plicity. That we need only to recognize GOD intimately present with us, to address ourselves to Him every moment, that we may beg His assistance for knowing His will in things doubtful, and for rightly performing those which we plainly see He requires of us, offering them to Him before we do them, and giving Him thanks when we have done.

That in this conversation with GOD, we are also employed in praising,adoring, and loving him incessantly, for His infinite goodness andperfection.

That, without being discouraged on account of our sins, we should pray for His grace with a perfect confidence, as relying upon the infinite merits of our LORD. That GOD never failed offering us His grace at eachaction; that he distinctly perceived it, and never failed of it, unlesswhen his thoughts had wandered from a sense of GOD's Presence, or hehad forgot to ask His assistance.

That GOD always gave us light in our doubts, when we had no otherdesign but to please Him.

That our sanctification did not depend upon changing our works, but indoing that for GOD's sake, which we commonly do for our own. That itwas lamentable to see how many people mistook the means for the end,addicting themselves to certain works, which they performed veryimperfectly, by reason of their human or selfish regards.

That the most excellent method he had found of going to GOD, was thatof doing our common business without any view of pleasing men, [Gal. i.10; Eph. vi. 5, 6.] and (as far as we are capable) purely for the loveof GOD.

That it was a great delusion to think that the times of prayer ought todiffer from other times. that we are as strictly obliged to adhere toGOD by action in the time of action, as by prayer in its season.

That his prayer was nothing else but a sense of the presence of GOD, his soul being at that time insensible to everything but Divine love:and that when the appointed times of prayer were past, he found nodifference, because he still continued with GOD, praising and blessingHim with all his might, so that he passed his life in continual joy;yet hoped that GOD would give him somewhat to suffer, when he shouldgrow stronger.

That we ought, once for all, heartily to put our whole trust in GOD,and make a total surrender of ourselves to Him, secure that He wouldnot deceive us.

That we ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love ofGOD, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed. That we should not wonder if, in the beginning, weoften failed in our endeavours, but that at last we should gain ahabit, which will naturally produce its acts in us, without our care,and to our exceeding great delight.

That the whole substance of religion was faith, hope, and charity; by the practice of which we become united to the will of GOD: that all beside is indifferent and to be used as a means, that we may arrive at our end, and be swallowed up therein, by faith and charity.

That all things are possible to him who believes, that they are lessdifficult to him who hopes, they are more easy to him who loves, andstill more easy to him who perseveres in the practice of these threevirtues.

That the end we ought to propose to ourselves is to become, in thislife, the most perfect worshippers of GOD we can possibly be, as wehope to be through all eternity.

That when we enter upon the spiritual we should consider, and examineto the bottom, what we are. And then we should find ourselves worthy of all contempt, and such as do not deserve the name of Christians,subject to all kinds of misery, and numberless accidents, which troubleus, and cause perpetual vicissitudes in our health, in our humours, inour internal and external dispositions: in fine, persons whom GOD wouldhumble by many pains and labours, as well within as without. Afterthis, we should not wonder that troubles, temptations, oppositions andcontradictions, happen to us from men. We ought, on the contrary, tosubmit ourselves to them, and bear them as long as GOD pleases, asthings highly advantageous to us.

That the greater perfection a soul aspires after, the more dependent it is upon Divine grace.

Being questioned by one of his own society (to whom he was obliged toopen himself) by what means he had attained such an habitual sense ofGOD? he told him that, since his first coming to the monastery, he hadconsidered GOD as the end of all his thoughts and desires, as the markto which they should tend, and in which they should terminate.

That in the beginning of his novitiate he spent the hours appointed forprivate prayer in thinking of GOD, so as to convince his mind of, andto impress deeply upon his heart, the Divine existence, rather bydevout sentiments, and submission to the lights of faith, than bystudied reasonings and elaborate meditations. That by this short andsure method, he exercised himself in the knowledge and love of GOD,resolving to use his utmost endeavour to live in a continual sense ofHis Presence, and, if possible, never to forget Him more.

That when he had thus in prayer filled his mind with great sentimentsof that infinite Being, he went to his work appointed in the kitchen(for he was cook to the society); there having first consideredseverally the things his office required, and when and how each thingwas to be done, he spent all the intervals of his time, as well beforeas after his work, in prayer.

That, when he began his business, he said to GOD, with a filial trustin Him, "O my GOD, since Thou art with me, and I must now, in obedience to Thy commands, apply my mind to these outward things, I beseech Thee to grant me the grace to continue in Thy Presence; and to this end do Thou prosper me with Thy assistance, receive all my works, and possess all my affections."

As he proceeded in his work, he continued his familiar conversationwith his Maker, imploring His grace, and offering to Him all hisactions.

When he had finished, he examined himself how he had discharged hisduty; if he found well, he returned thanks to GOD; if otherwise, heasked pardon; and without being discouraged, he set his mind rightagain, and continued his exercise of the presence of GOD, as if he hadnever deviated from it. "Thus," said he, "by rising after my falls, andby frequently renewed acts of faith and love, I am come to a state,wherein it would be as difficult for me not to think of GOD, as it wasat first to accustom myself to it."

As Bro. Lawrence had found such an advantage in walking in the presenceof GOD, it was natural for him to recommend it earnestly to others; buthis example was a stronger inducement than any arguments he couldpropose. His very countenance was edifying; such a sweet and calmdevotion appearing in it, as could not but affect the beholders. And itwas observed, that in the greatest hurry of business in the kitchen, hestill preserved his recollection and heavenly-mindedness. He was neverhasty nor loitering, but did each thing in its season, with an evenuninterrupted composure and tranquility of spirit. "The time of business," said he, "does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clutter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess GOD in as great tranquillity as if I were upon my knees at the Blessed Sacrament."

So whenever you hear or read that the Word and the soul converse together, and contemplate each other, do not imagine them speaking with human voices nor appearing in bodily form. Listen, this is rather what you must think about it: The Word is a spirit (Jn 4:24), the soul is a spirit; and they possess their own mode of speech and mode of presence in accord with their nature. The speech of the Word is loving kindness, that of the soul, the fervor of devotion..... When the Word therefore tells the soul, "You are beautiful," and calls it friend (Son 1:14), he infuses into it the power of love, and to know it is loved in return.... The speech of the Word is an infusion of grace, the soul's response is wonder and thanksgiving."

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Chapter 2How one can cling to and seek Christ alone, disdaining everything else

Certainly, anyone who desires and aims to arrive at and remain in sucha state must needs above all have eyes and senses closed and not beinwardly involved or worried about anything, nor concerned or occupiedwith anything, but should completely reject all such things asirrelevant, harmful and dangerous. Then he should withdraw himselftotally within himself and not pay any attention to any object enteringthe mind except Jesus Christ, the wounded one, alone, and so he shouldturn his attention with care and determination through him into him -that is, though the man into God, through the wounds of his humanityinto the inmost reality of his divinity. Here he can commit himself andall that he has, individually and as a whole, promptly, securely andwithout discussion, to God's unwearying providence, in accordance withthe words of Peter, cast all your care upon him (1 Peter 5.7), who cando everything. And again, In nothing be anxious (Philippians 4.6), orwhat is more, Cast your burden upon the Lord, and he will sustain you.(Psalm 55.22) Or again, It is good for me to hold fast to God, (Ps.73.28) and I have always set up God before me. (Psalm 16.8) The bridetoo in the Song of Songs says, I have found him whom my soul loves,(Canticle 3.4) and again, All good things came to me along with her.(Wisdom 7.11) This, after all, is the hidden heavenly treasure, noneother than the pearl of great price, which must be sought withresolution, esteeming it in humble faithfulness, eager diligence, andcalm silence before all things, and preferring it even above physicalcomfort, or honour and renown. For what good does it do a religious ifhe gains the whole world but suffers the loss of his soul? Or what isthe benefit of his state of life, the holiness of his profession, thevirtue of his habit and tonsure, or the outer circumstances of his wayof life if he is without a life of spiritual humility and truth inwhich Christ abides through a faith created by love. This is what Lukemeans by, the Kingdom of God (that is, Jesus Christ) is within you.(Luke 17.21)

We must train ourselves a great deal in prayer and penance, because the world has a great need of souls who pray, of spirits who are given to sacrifice, of hearts who are committed, valiant, prudent and full of love. Our prayer must be total and sincere, not in hoping for delights, congratulations or rewards. If we take faith for our companion all the rest is insignificant. It is useful and necessary to possess and love faithfully. In faith we know we possess God who is loved by the will, reaffirmed by the mind, and witnessed to by our actions. We must not be preoccupied with the tribulations, the dryness, the dark nights of the soul. These trials we all must pass through. God dwells in the hidden, dark nights. We must work tirelessly, even in the obscurity of these trials, because this is our sanctification, our purification.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Earthly parents, father and mother,in our flesh, are wont to feel great compassion and sympathy for theiroffspring; and if they find them afflicted with pain of any kind, orany bodily inconvenience, are ready enough to spend both themselves andtheir fortunes, should reason so require, for their children's recoveryto ease and soundness. Ofttimes, too, many dumb animals even do notshrink from facing death itself for their young; and only too willinglygo to meet it, that their offspring may escape it, Whence, now, comesthis to man and to the brute? Whence comes this natural sympathy, butfrom Him who is the Father of sympathy and compassion; who wills notthat any should perish, and rejoices not in the destruction of themthat die? Our Creator, therefore, the Fountain of compassion, theFountain of mercy, when He sees us His children stained with any sinfulcontagion, or hurt well nigh to death with the many and deep woundsthat crime has made, displays towards us greater devotion in curing oursins, in healing our sickness, in cleansing away the leprosy and filthof our misdeeds, in wiping out the soils of our vain thoughts, thandoes earthly father for his children, or reasonless brute for itsyoung. Nor is it enough for Him simply to cure our sicknesses, and sodismiss us; when we are healed, He makes us His own close familiars,and afterwards folds us tenderly in His arms as His own dearestchildren; ay, He embraces us and kisses us, and then soothes andconsoles away all our infirmities, and all the sinful leprosy we hadcontracted by our folly, and entirely forgets all the injuries we oncedid Him by spurning Him in His consolations. He clothes us with honourin this present life, and crowns us with glory in the next; He makes uskings; and, as to our soul, her He makes a queen, whence He admonishesus as kings, already made so in the psalm: And now, O ye kings,understand; receive instruction, you that judge the earth' (Ps. ii.10). For we then are kings indeed, when we rule our inordinate motions,and reduce them to reason and the will of our Creator; we receiveinstruction when we judge the earth, that is to say, when, if we seethat our heart desires earthly things, we compel it to contemn theearthly and to love the heavenly. Our soul becomes a queen; for arrayedin varied robes--that is to say, adorned with divers virtuousgifts--she is wedded in mind's continuous act and habit to Christ herSpouse who is in heaven, even whilst she sojourns here on earth. It wasnot enough for our Creator to create us, and to govern us when created,and to send angels, as often as need was, to defend us; but He in Hisown Person, taking our form to Him, taking our nature to Him, out ofpity for the work of His hands, came down to us, looked carefully atour wounds, touched them, felt them; and, moved with pity for themisery which He saw enthralled us, grieved over us, and sighed in Hisinmost soul. He pitied, grieved, and sighed for us; and then of thatvery Flesh which He had assumed for our sake, made as it were a healingointment, and applied it to our griefs, and restored us from oursickness back to perfect health. And, that He might in this mysteryshow how much He loved us, He gave us that very Flesh which He hadassumed for us, that we might eat It; and onwards to this day fails notto administer It to us in the sacrifice of His altar.

Thou, then, my soul, consoled and animated by the sweet recollection ofall these mercies, pray to thy Lord, pray to thy Creator; invoke allHis saints to thy assistance, that, aided and consoled by theirintercession, thou mayest gain of Him who made thee grace so to live inthis thy present state, so to purge away thy iniquities by truerepentance and confession, as that, thy transitory passage run, thoumayest merit to mount up to joys eternal; by His help who liveth andreigneth God to eternal ages. Amen.

“Perfection is founded entirely on the love of God: ‘Charity is the bond of perfection;’ and perfect love of God means the complete union of our will with God’s.”

St. Alphonsus

http://doctors.godworkin.us/liguori_uniformity.htmlExcellence of this VirtuePerfection is founded entirely on the love of God: “Charity is the bond of perfection [2] ;” and perfect love of God means the complete union of our will with God’s: “The principal effect of love is so to unite the wills of those who love each other as to make them will the same things [3] .” It follows then, that the more one unites his will with the divine will, the greater will be his love of God. Mortification, meditation, receiving Holy Communion, acts of fraternal charity are all certainly pleasing to God—but only when they are in accordance with his will. When they do not accord with God’s will, he not only finds no pleasure in them, but he even rejects them utterly and punishes them.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

"Lord, you know me. Let me know you. Let me come to know you even as I am known. You are the strength of my soul; enter it and make it a place suitable for your dwelling, a possession without spot or blemish. This is my hope and the reason I speak. In this hope I rejoice, when I rejoice rightly. As for the other things of this life, the lamented; and the more they deserve tears, the less likely will men sorrow for them. For behold, you have loved the truth, because the one who does what is true enters into the truth, because the one who does what is true enters into the light. I wish to do this truth before you alone by praising you, and before a multitude of witnesses by writing of you."

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

God has an immense desire to work in your soul, to lead you to sanctity and to union with Himself, provided we commit ourselves into His hands. The Lord Jesus comes to our assistance with purifying trials in order to empty us of self, to detach us from creatures, and to immerse ourselves in true humility. God secretly teaches the soul and instructs it in the perfection of love.

I have been studying lately the Doctors of the Church. And well it all comes down to one thing, pray and study the Word of God. The more we meditate on Scripture the more God works in our souls.

Coming soon I am working on a website on the Doctors of the Catholic Church. I have many, many, homilies from the great Saints. A treat that will be coming soon.But if you want a sneak peak then go here. I have more coming this weekend.http://godworkin.us/doctrine/index.html